Smallville's Worst Kept Secret
by Loonyloops
Summary: The citizens of Smallville have their secrets, but some of them are not very secret.


**This came from something in the _Man of Steel_ extras about how they wanted it to be kind of an open secret in Smallville that Clark was Superman. I liked that and ran with it.**

Who is Superman? Someone in the world must know, right? Everyone in the world really wants to know. He said that he grew up in Kansas and has been here on Earth more than three decades. So, why does no one know who he is, or do they? No one in the town of Smallville said anything to any of the military personnel or reporters, however, amongst themselves they traded stories about the Kents and the little boy they took in about thirty years ago.

Andy Ray, a manager at the gas station just off the highway told Kelvin Anderson that his daddy had helped Jonathon build a basement in his barn years ago just after they adopted their son. Heaven only knew why anyone would want a huge basement in a barn, especially one that was never used. Kelvin just nodded and wondered aloud just how the Kents had afforded just a thing. Before he could tell Andy about being in that very barn and not seeing any hint of a basement, more customers came through the door. Andy and Kelvin never mentioned any of their conversation to the reporters that filled up the morning after the Battle on Main Street.

Ida Martin was a waitress at Denny's. She was staying busy serving all those helping to clean up the destruction left by the aliens, especially since the IHOP had a huge hole in the front of it. She had known Martha Kent since she was a little girl and had often served the family through the years. On more than one occasion she had quietly thrown away the bent and broken silverware that a very small Clark had been using. It was not natural for a boy so young to be so strong. She did not blame Martha, or her son, the boy was too young to know his own strength, and if anyone asked Ida he was cute as a button to boot. He still was. Every time he sat at one of her tables he was always so polite and tipped her well. Jonathan and Martha had done a good job with that boy.

Ida told the reporters and soldiers at her tables she was busier since the attack, but she would never complain about more tips coming. When asked about aliens, she spun a fantastic tale of a UFO she saw as a child. After that they just ate their meals and left Ida to her work. She would laugh with the other waiters as they gave her more ideas to add to her story.

Marques Johnson moved to Smallville in the third grade and his teacher assigned him a seat next to Clark. At the time, and for many years to come, he had thought his classmate was too weird to befriend. Once they were in high school Marques was on the football team and could not be bothered by the not-so-popular kids. That did not stop him from noticing Clark was really strong even though he never worked out. It was the little things at first: the way he would lift his desk with no effort when the teacher wanted to rearrange the room, the time he broke the vending machine by tapping its side, or the time Old Man McCarver had driven his car into the muddy ditch and Clark just pushed it out. When they were older he watched Clark get pushed into a chain link fence post and just stay there until the offender had walked away. Marques had been walking by when Clark stood up straight and walked away. The post had been flattened into a thin sheet of metal where his back had been, but he had not been hurt at all.

A military big wig stopped him while he was clearing up the debris in the Sears parking lot to ask him if he knew what the aliens might have wanted in Smallville. He just laughed and said he had no clue. He went on record later that day telling all the press that his body shop was offering a special on all body work on damage done during the event.

Pete Ross had called Clark Kent friend for a very long time. Of course he had seen things over the years, but he never mentioned them. He would have been surprised to find people would have believed him. Then, when the alien showdown made a very frightening appearance in the IHOP he was managing, he looked straight at his friend and his friend looked back. However, Clark was wearing alien clothes, with a cape, just like the others and the fight was epic. There were moments he was truly afraid for his friend, and his town.

When a reporter asked him what he had seen he just told her he had been hiding the whole time. Clark may be an alien, but he was still a friend. He stated in the local paper that the IHOP would be rebuilding and he hoped to be open again soon.

Dell Mason had grown up in Smallville. He had raised two beautiful daughters there, and he planned to be buried next to his parents in the church cemetery, across the street from where he had worshiped all his life. He had watched Jonathan Kent grow into a fine man. It was a shame when he passed. Like so many others in town that called the Kents friends he had been happy when they took in that little boy. If anyone deserved to be a mother it was Martha. Dell would be the first to admit they had done a good job with him, even if he was not quite right.

He had heard talk and he had witnessed a few peculiar things himself over the years. Nonetheless, Clark was always kind enough to lend a hand when it came time to bring in the hay, especially in the last few years. It did not matter if the boy was odd, or if the rumors that he could lift a tractor barehanded were true, as long as he could neatly stack the square bales, he was alright in Dell's opinion. So when a young reporter showed up on his porch, he met her with his empty shotgun and told her to quit being so nosy. Then he had a good laugh over his morning coffee.

Masie Anderson was in fifth grade. Her friends would tell her all sorts of crazy stories about a boy that had gone to school in Smallville a long time ago. They said he pushed a bus out of the river. She never believed any of the things they said, even when she heard the same stories from adults. Then, one day, she was walking home from her friend's house when she saw a strange man lift an entire tree out of the road. She just stood on the sidewalk staring at him. When he noticed her he smiled and said that it would be their secret. All she could do was nod before he was walking away. As she made her way home, she decided she would keep that secret. After the scary stuff that happened in town, there were lots of strangers asking questions and she was very glad they only saw her as a kid because she was not sure she would have been able to keep her secret from them, and that was one secret she would keep, especially from those people.

Most of the citizens of Smallville had a story to tell, or knew someone who did, about the Kents' only son. It did not influence the way they looked saw him. He was kind and polite, just the way a good Smallville kid should be. That was all that mattered. Once Clark was an adult the townsfolk still saw hints of the strangeness they associated with him, but it was rarely discussed. So when the town became the epicenter of alien invasion news coverage everyone interviewed spoke of rebuilding destroyed businesses and mourning those who died. No one ever mentioned the aliens that destroyed a quarter of the city. Martha's neighbors and Clark's old classmates all said they would rebuild. It would be hard, but they were tough. What no one ever mentioned was how Superman looked just like Clark Kent, but that was nobody else's business.


End file.
